Sonia Galaviz

Soñia Galaviz: Democratic nominee for Idaho Senate District 16

Soñia Galaviz, a Democratic state representative from Boise, is the party's nominee for Idaho Senate District 16 on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot. She faces Republican Geoffrey Surbeck for the seat held by Sen. Ali Rabe, a three-term Democrat who announced in February 2026 that she would not seek re-election. Rather than run for another House term, Galaviz is giving up her House District 16 Seat A position to pursue the Senate seat, and Rabe has endorsed her to succeed her.

Background

Galaviz was born and raised in Idaho's Silver Valley, in the Panhandle. She has worked as an Idaho public school teacher for more than 20 years, beginning in 2002, and spent much of her career in the Boise School District. Daryl Gerber, her principal at Garfield Elementary in 2015, called her "phenomenal," according to Idaho Education News.

She holds an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction with a STEM education emphasis from Boise State University, completed in 2020, per her official Legislature biography. Her awards include the National Education Association Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence, named National Teacher of the Year, in 2017; the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights' Idaho Human Rights Educator of the Year in 2020; and Boise State Distinguished Alumni in 2021. She has two children, MacKenzie and Max.

In July 2026 she left the Boise School District for a new job as a multilingual learner consultant with the West Ada School District, the state's largest, where she assists teachers whose students speak languages beyond English. She told EdNews she contacted West Ada Superintendent Derek Bub herself about the role. "West Ada didn't hire me for my politics. They hired me because of my experience and my qualifications teaching kids," she said.

Legislative record

Galaviz was first elected to the Idaho House in 2022, winning 57 percent of the vote, and was re-elected in 2024 with 61 percent, according to the Idaho Secretary of State's elections database. In the House she serves on four committees: Education, Environment Energy and Technology, Ethics and House Policy, and Resources and Conservation.

Her legislative positions have tracked her classroom background. During the 2026 session she opposed House Bill 634, which would have removed some spending flexibility for school districts. In 2025 she opposed the flag and banner bill, arguing it gave the state sweeping control over how teachers decorate their classrooms, per Idaho Education News.

Why she's running

Galaviz announced her Senate run just before Rabe's retirement announcement on February 6, 2026, and thanked Rabe for her endorsement. "She has set a high bar and I look forward to working equally hard for D16 as your state senator," Galaviz wrote at the time. In a phone call with EdNews, she called the move a natural progression: "I see moving to the Senate as just an extension of the political experience and opportunity down here, and I want to continue to learn and grow."

She won the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary over Justin "Justice" Mitson, 3,083 votes (91.97 percent) to his 269 (8.03 percent), per certified Idaho Secretary of State results. In her KIVI-TV candidate questionnaire, she traced her political start to the pandemic era. "I was first motivated to run for office after COVID and seeing a deliberate attack on schools and teachers by other elected officials," she wrote. "Public education is my passion and my north star at the statehouse."

Where she stands

She names affordability as her top issue. "Property taxes, rising fuel costs, rising food prices, and more are making it difficult for a lot of people to make ends meet," she wrote in the KIVI-TV questionnaire. Her specific proposal is to reinstate the automatic inflationary adjustment, known as indexing, that Idaho removed in 2016 in exchange for a maximum homeowner's exemption now set at $125,000. She argues that rapid residential price growth has shifted the property tax burden predominantly onto homeowners. "People can't afford it, plain and simple," she wrote.

On the state budget, she points to the cumulative effect of tax cuts. "We have no mechanism to review, remove, or sunset the existing tax preferences- cuts, exemptions of rebates," she wrote in the questionnaire. She continued: "Idaho has lost over $4B in state revenue in the past 5 years alone. We had a budget shortfall this fiscal year and a very painful session where roads, healthcare, and services were cut across Idaho." Her proposed remedy is a comprehensive review of existing tax cuts, exemptions, and rebates to see whether each still fits the state's priorities.

On education, she writes that she spends the interim between legislative sessions meeting with schools, administrators, and educators to identify needs. She says she brings education bills each session, including measures to make it easier for special education staff to move into K-12 from the private sector and proposals aimed at school facility needs. She has also said she wants the state to find ways to pay for school buildings without resorting to bonds, which she notes raise property taxes. On housing, she wrote that she plans to work on affordable housing legislation alongside Rabe.

Campaign finance

Galaviz's Senate campaign committee has reported $39,575.00 in total contributions this cycle, per filings on Idaho's Sunshine campaign finance portal. The committee has spent $31,259.78, leaving an ending cash balance of $32,936.22. She reports no outstanding debt.

Sources

• Official biography, Idaho State Legislature
• "Sen. Ali Rabe not seeking re-election, Rep. Galaviz to run for her seat," Idaho Education News
• "West Ada hires Rep. Galaviz as a multilingual learner consultant," Idaho Education News
• "Here are a few competitive Idaho legislative primary elections to watch in 2026," Idaho Capital Sun
• "Idaho Senate District 16 Candidate Q&A: May Primary Election," KIVI-TV
• Idaho Secretary of State certified primary results
• Idaho Secretary of State Sunshine campaign finance portal